Removable patterning assembly



March 28, 1967 P. A. MAHLER ETAL REMOVABLE PATTERNING ASSEMBLY Filed April 27, 1964 FIGI.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS.

PETER A. MAHLER WILLIAM A. GUNKEL ATTYS.

March 28, 1967 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,310,965

REMOVABLE PATTERN ING ASSEMBLY Filfid April 27, 1964 4 Sheecs$heet 2 FIGS.

March 28, 1967 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,

REMOVABLE PATTERNING ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 27, 1964 unman m MOE March 28, 1967 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,310,965

REMOVABLE PATTERNING ASSEMBLY Filed April 27, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

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United States Patent 3,310,965 REMOVABLE PATTERNING ASSEMBLY Peter A. Mahler and William A. Gunkel, High Point, N.C., assignors to The Singer Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 363,023

6 Claims. (Cl. 66156) The present invention relates to circular knitting ma chines and more particularly to a readily removable and replaceable patterning assembly adapted for cooperation with a ladies hosiery type circular knitting machine to produce patterned areas on ladies hosiery.

In the more expensive ladies nylon hosiery, frequently certain areas of the stocking are patterned, such as the welt or shadow welt, which patterns add to the aesthetic appearance of the stocking. To this end, pattern drums are widely used in circular knitting machines, the drums cooperating with either the needles or jacks underlying the needles, to cause certain of the needles to make predetermined stitches at preset intervals in order to form a knitted pattern. In addition, when knitting a mesh type stocking on a circular knitting machine, it is common practice to provide tuck needle selection by means of a pattern drum.

It has been found that in order to facilitate the repair of either the pattern drum or the needle cylinder on machines provided with a pattern drum, the pattern drum should be removed. Machines presently in operation require a considerable expenditure of time to remove the pattern drum and even more time to reposition or retime the mechanism associated with the drum upon re-insertion of the pattern drum.

In view of the above, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an easily removable and replaceable pattern assembly which will require minimal adjustment of any associated apparatus upon removal or replacement of the assembly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a patterning assembly on a circular knitting machine which may be removed and replaced with comparative ease so that the knitting instrumentalities may be easily accessible for repair and change.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an easily removable and replaceable pattern assembly which by its removability insures ease of pattern change and/ or part replacement at a position removed from the machine.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a circular knitting machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view as viewed from line 2-2 of FIG. 1 with certain portions of the machine covered;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view illustrating a portion of the circular knitting machine as illustrated in FIG. 2 with the covers removed;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view illustrating the removal of a patterning assembly in accordance with the present invention; and

3,3l,%5 Patented Mar. 28, 1967 FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional plan view of the apparatus taken along line 77 of FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the knitting machine illustrated therein comprises a frame 20 having at its upper end a needle cylinder 21 rotatably mounted therein. A yarn guide ring 22, pivotally secured to the frame at 24, surrounds the upper end of the cylinder and mounts thereon a plurality of groups of yarn feed fingers, in the present instance, two. A rotary dial (not shown) overlies the open upper end of the needle cylinder 21 for simultaneous rotation with the needle cylinder through dial superstructure 23 mounted on the frame through a pivotal yoke 29. The dial is covered by a stationary dial cap which mounts the usual dial cams, yarn trimmer, and yarn control elements including a yarn end suction takeoff which is connected to the suction side of a blower in the lower part of the frame 20 through a suction duct 25 including a yarn end collector or trap 26. The knitting yarns are fed to the knitting stations from yarn packages 27 mounted on suitable creels or package supports 28 at the rear of the upper portion of the frame.

The needle cylinder 21 and the dial are driven by a conventional ring gear 31 connected to the main drive shaft 32 through suitable gearing including a clutch (not shown) for shifting between uni-directional rotation and reciprocatory rotation respectively. The main drive shaft 32 is driven from a drive motor in the lower portion of the frame 20 through suitable driving connections 33.

The sequential operations of the knitting instrumentalities of the knitting machine are controlled by pattern control mechanism including, in the present instance three pattern control drums, a front drum 41, a rear drum 42, and an auxiliary drum 43, all of which are selectively indexed in timed relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder under the control of a conventional pattern chain or other master pattern control mechanism. During the course of the knitting of a complete stocking blank, conventional axially slidable needles indicated at 45, are in dividually controlled by a needle cam box 46 including cams operable on the butts of the needles and by selector jacks 47 (see FIG. 5) mounted in the cylinder 21 underlying the needles 45 and operable to selectively elevate the needles through lifter jacks (not shown) mounted in the needle cylinder intermediate the needles 45 and the selector jacks 47. The selector jacks, in turn, are actuated by selector slides, in the present instance, arranged in three groups, 51, 52, and 53 (see FIG. 5). The slides 51 are controlled by and included in a right hand pattern selector assembly 161 which includes a pattern drum 61 having a plurality of patterns stored thereon, and the slides 52 are controlled by and included in a left hand pattern selector assembly 162 which includes a pattern drum 62 similar to the drum 61. The slides 53 which constitute a group of six slides, are controlled separately through mechanism shown in part at 63 by one of the control drums, in the present instance, the front drum 41. In like manner, the lowermost six slides of the group 51 are controlled from the front drum 41 through linkages, shown at 65 in FIG. 5, and the lowermost six slides of the group 52 are controlled from the rear drum 42 through linkages shown in part at 68 operating bell cranks 67. An individual drawdown slide 54 adjacent the group 51 is controlled from the rear drum 42 through a linkage 64.

The slides 51 and 52 are arranged in sets of from four to eight slides each, and each set may be moved to an inactive position independently of its associated pattern drum by control mechanism which is releasably coupled to, and operated from the front drum 41. The control mechanism for the group of slides 51, being designated generally 55, and the control mechanism for the group 5 2 being designated generally 56. In FIGS. 1 and 2 the control mechanism is covered by cover members 57 and 58.

Means is provided to index the pattern drums 61 and 62 twice for every revolution of the needle cylinder so that two adjacent pattern jacks 100 in the pattern drum effect a selection of needles at the associated selector stations for one complete revolution of the needle cylinder which in the present two-feed machine, embodies two courses of knitting. For example the group 51 may select needles for knitting in the odd-numbered courses of the stocking and the group 52 may select needles for the even-numbered courses. The slides of group 53 correspond to the conventional gusset selector slides for use in knitting a rec-iprocated con-toured heel and toe.

The indexing of the pattern drums 61 and 62 is effected by an annular cam surface carried by the ring gear 31 of the knitting machine. The cam surface comprises a double cam track, shown in broken lines at 69 and 70 in FIG. 5, each track having a single vertical rise about its circumference, the rise for one track being displaced 180 degrees from the rise for the other track. As shown in FIG. 5, follower mechanism operates from the double cam track to index the pattern drums 61 and 62. The follower mechanism for the pattern drum 61 is designated 71 and includes a pair of connectors 72 and 73 respectively connected to pawl carriers 74 and 75 which are pivoted on the axis of the pattern drum 61 to cooperate with ratchet wheels 78 and 79 fixed to the drum 61 when the rise of the inner cam track 69 of the double cam track passes into registry with the follower mechanism 71, the connector 72 operates the pawl carrier 74 a distance to cause the associated pawl 76 to advance the drum 61 one step corresponding to the space of one pattern jack. After 180 degrees of the needle cylinders revolution, the rise on the outer track 76 of the double cam track operates through the follower mechanism 71 including the connector 73 to displace the pawl carrier 75 a distance to cause its associated pawl 77 to index the drum 61 one step corresponding to the space of one pattern jack.- Similar follower mechanism for the drum 62 is provided at 81 including connectors 82 and 83 and pawl carriers 84 and 85 having pawls 86 and 87 respectively operating on ratchet wheels 88 and 89 to index the drum 62 in a manner similar to the indexing of the drum 61. Stop mechanism is provided to interrupt the indexing of each drum, the stop mechanism for interrupting the indexing of the drum 61 being illustrated at 91 and the mechanism for interrupting the indexing of the drum 62, being illustrated at 192. In the present instance, the stop mechanism is designed to arrest the drum at a predetermined point in its rotation, as determined by a foreshortened tooth in a selected one of the ratchet Wheels. The stop mechanism displaces the pawl associated with the selected ratchet wheel to a position where it does not engage the foreshortened tooth and consequently, interrupts the advance of the ratchet wheel at that tooth. Since both pawls must be effective to cause continued indexing of the drum, inactivation of either pawl arrests the indexing of the drum. The stop mechanism as Well as the ratchet and double pawl drive mechanism is fully described in the copending application of Mahler, Serial Number 363,024, filed on April 27, 1946.

As previously pointed out, the slides in the groups 51 and 52 are controlled by the pattern jacks 100 in the pattern drums 61 and 62 respectively, and further are capable of being rendered inactive in sets by the control mechanisms 55 and 56 respectively. With reference to the slides 51, each slide is controlled by a lever 101 pivoted on an upright shaft 102 and having a follower portion 103 operable to be engaged by a butt of the pattern jack mounted in the selection drum 61. The presence of a butt on a pattern jack 100 at the level corresponding to the level of a particular lever 101 displaces the follower portion 103 of the lever outwardly or clockwise about the shaft 102, thereby retracting the slides associated with that lever. If a butt is missing at the corresponding pattern jack, the slide at the corresponding level is displaced radially inward of the needle cylinder to engage any butts at the corresponding level on the selector jacks 47 mounted in the needle cylinder 21. Each lever 161 is further provided with an extension 105 having a spring 106 associated therewith for biasing the follower portion 103 inwardly or counterclockwise toward the pattern drum 61. Thus, for each half revolution of the needle cylinder, the position of the slide in the group 51 is determined by the absence or presence of a butt at the corresponding level on the pattern jack in the pattern drum 61.

When it is desired to maintain a set of selector slides in an inactive position, i.e., withdrawn from engagement with the butts on the selector jacks, the control mechanism 55 operates to displace the levers 101 associated with that set; To this end, the control mechanism includes a plurality of stops 111 equal in number to the number of sets of slides and operable to engage the extensions 105 of the levers 101. Each stop 111 is con nected through actuators, including a bar 112 which is mounted for horizontal slidable movement in a support 113, to push rods 115. The bar 112 is biased rearwardly by a spring 114 to a position normally affording actuation of the lever 101 by the pattern jacks in the pattern drum 61. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the bars 112 may be operated from the front drum 41 by means of a follower 118 (see FIG. 1), a push rod 115 carrying a tappet 115a thereon and operating on a bell crank 116 pivoted to the support 113 and engaging at its opposite end a pin 117 on the bar 112. When a cam 119 on the drum 41 is in registry with a follower 118, its associated rod 115 is displaced upwardly, thereby pivoting the bell crank 116 clockwise to displace the bar 112 to the left against the bias of the spring 114. In the absence of a cam on the drum 41 in registry with a particular push rod 115, the push rod will permit counterclockwise movement of the bell crank 116, affording rightward displacement of the bar 112 by the spring 114, thereby rendering the levers 101 associated with the stop 111 in condition for actuation by the pattern drum.

As the left hand pattern selector assembly 162 operates in substantially the same manner as the right hand assembly 161, and contains substantially all of the structural features included in the right hand assembly, the following discussion relative to the removability and re-insertion of the right hand pattern assembly 161 should be considered applicable to both such assemblies.

In accordance with the invention, the pattern assemblies are made removable by mounting all apparatus dealing with the patterning between a pair of spaced bed plates, which bed plates are detachably coupled to the frame 20 of the machine. Further, in order to facilitate the easy removability and thereafter re-insertion of the assemblies into a fully operative position whereby upon re-insertion knitting may be continued precisely at the point Where the assembly was removed, quick-break coupling means are provided between the apparatus of the pattern selector assembly and that which is mounted on the machine frame and connects thereto so that it is unnecessary to readjust and retime the pattern drum.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7, the right hand pattern selector assembly 161 comprises the apparatus which is illustrated as being removed in FIGS. 6 and 7. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the apparatus of the assembly 161 resides between the spaced bed plates 162 and 163, which bed plates are rigidly spaced from one another by the support 113 at the front of the machine, and by a brace 164, to the rear of the machine, as Well as the upright shaft 102 which mounts the plurality of levers 101. A center post 165, having an axis parallel to the axis of the needle cylinder 21, also serves to add rigidity to the assembly while carrying the pattern drum 61 thereon. The upper and lower bed plates 161 and 163 respectively, are secured to the frame 20 by quick-break coupling means, in the present instance a plurality of machine screws 166. To remove the assembly from the machine, it is a simple matter to remove the screws 166, and decouple the assembly from the frame 20 without changing any of the settings of either the cylinder, the pattern drum, or the front control drum.

To this end, the connectors 72 and 73, which connect the follower mechanism 71 for indexing the drum 61, disconnect from the pawl carriers 74 and 75 respectively by quick-break couplings. In the present instance, the quick-break couplings comprise shoulder screws 167 and 168 which are easily removed for disconnecting the follower mechanism 71 from the pawl carriers 74 and 75. In a like manner the stop mechanism 91 may be disassociated from the assembly 161 by quick-break couplings which in the present instance comprise yokes 92 carried by one end of bell cranks 93 on the stop mechanism 91, and pins 94 mounted on the stop carriers 95'.

In order to avoid excessive difiiculty in removing the assembly from the push rods 115, the rods 115 are loosely coupled to the control mechanism 55 by quick-break coupling means. To this end the tappets 115a of the rods 115, are stepped downwardly at the same angle as the actuated ends 116a of the bell cranks 116, mounted on the support 113. This permits the actuated ends 116a, which are biased by the springs 114, to disengage the tappets 1150 of the rods 115 by simply pulling the assembly in the direction in which the rods are stepped, i.e. to the right as viewed in FIG. 6. On the other hand when it is desired to re-insert the assembly, the bell cranks 116 may be partially rotated so as to permit alignment and engagement of the actuated end 116a with the tappet 115a of the push rods 115. Thus, the entire assembly will permit easy connection and disconnection of the control mechanism from the push rods 115 operating from the front control drum 41.

It should be noted that in a similar manner, each of the apparatus mounted on the left hand assembly is connected to its operator by quick-break couplings which, as in the instance of the right hand assembly, permits the separation of the entire assembly from the frame and its subsequent re-insertion therein without re-adjusting and retiming the pattern selector drum.

As may be appreciated, the present invention provides an easily removable and replaceable pattern assembly which permits easy access to the cylinder of a circular knitting machine, while facilitating the easy repair and changeability of apparatus mounted on the pattern assembly.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A circular knitting machine for knitting a patterned fabric comprising a frame mounting a rotatable needle cylinder therein, knitting instrumentalities including axially slidable needles mounted on said cylinder, pattern control mechanism selectively indexed in timed relation relative to the rotation of the needle cylinder to control the sequential operation of said knitting instrumentalities, a pattern selector assembly comprising a pair of spaced bed plates mounting a pattern selector drum therebetween, said pattern selector drum operable to select needles for patterning the fabric knit thereon, a control mechanism mounted on said assembly between said bed plates, said pattern selector drum having a plurality of patterns stored thereon, a group of slides arranged in sets, each set separately operable by said control mechanism and corresponding to the patterns stored on said drum, quick-break coupling means connecting said assembly to said frame and another quick-break coupling means interconnecting said control mechanism and said pattern control mechanism, whereby disconnecting said quick-break coupling means facilitates easy removal of said assembly and subsequent remounting of said assembly without retiming said drum to said cylinder.

2. A circular knitting machine in accordance with claim 1 wherein said other quick-break coupling means comprises a plurality of stepped push rods and a plurality of corresponding actuators, each actuator connected to each set of slides and biased for engagement with said push rods, said push rods and actuators being stepped in the direction of removal of said assembly so that during removal said actuators disengage their corresponding push rod without interference.

3. A circular knitting machine for knitting a patterned fabric comprising a frame mounting a rotatable needle cylinder therein, knitting instrumentalities including axially slidable needles mounted on said cylinder and a plurality of jacks underlying said needles, pattern control mechanism selectively indexed in timed relation relative to the rotation of the needle cylinder to control the sequentional operation of said knitting instrumentalities, a pattern selector assembly mounting a pattern selector drum having a plurality of pattern-s stored thereon, said drum capable of being indexed in timed relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder, a group of slides operable on said jacks and arranged in sets mounted on said assembly, said slides operable individually by said pattern drum to select needles for patterning of articles knit on said cylinder,'said pattern selector assembly mounting control mechanism operable to select a pattern stored on said drum by controlling individual sets of said slides, means interconnecting said control mechanism and said pattern control mechanism, a first quick-break coupling means interconnecting said means and said control mechanism and a second quick-break coupling means interconnecting said pattern selector assembly and said frame of said machine whereby disconnecting said quick-break couplings permits easy removability of said pattern assembly.

4. A knitting machine in accordance with claim 3 including follower mechanism for causing said selective indexing of said pattern selector drum, a third quickbrea k coupling means connecting said follower mechanism and said drum whereby disconnecting said third means facilitates removal of said assembly from said frame.

'5. A circular knitting machine for knitting a patterned fabric comprising a frame mounting a rotatable needle cylinder therein, knitting instrumentalities including axially slidable needles mounted on said cylinder and a plurality of jacks underlying said needles, a pattern selector assembly mounted on said frame, said pattern selector assembly including a pair of bed plates carrying a pattern selector drum therebetween, said selector drum having a plurality of patterns stored thereon, a follower mechanism mounted on said frame for indexing said selector drum in timed relation to the rotation of said needle cylinder, a group of slides mounted between said bed plates intermediate said drum and said needle cylinder, said slides arranged in sets and operative by said drum to cause selective movement of said jacks for patterning of articles knit thereon, a quick-break coupling means connecting said bed plates to said frame and another quick-break coupling means connecting said follower mechanism to said selector drum, whereby said assembly may be easily removed and replaced Without disturbing the timing of the drum relative to the cylinder.

6. A circular knitting machine in accordance with claim '5 including pattern control mechanism including a control drum selectively indexed in timed relation relative to the rotation of said needle cylinder to control the sequential operation of said knitting instrumentalities, a control mechanism mounted between said plates, having a plurality of stops, each operative on a set of slides, and a plurality of actuators, each operative on a stop, a plurality of corresponding push rods intermediate said pattern control mechanism and said control mechanism, each of said push rods stepped downwardly in the direction of 10 removal of said assembly and each engaging an actuator, said assembly being removable and replaceable Without disturbing the setting of said push rods and said pattern control mechanism.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,867,644 7/1932 Arnes 6650 X 2,019,396 10/1935 Deans et al. 6650 2,040,946 5/1936 Marshall et al 66l54 X 2,764,006 9/1956 Lawson et al 66--156 X MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Examiner. 

1. A CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE FORKNITTING A PATTERNED FABRIC COMPRISING A FRAME MOUNTING A ROTATABLE NEEDLE CYLINDER THEREIN, KNITTING INSTRUMENTALITIES INCLUDING AXIALLY SLIDABLE NEEDLES MOUNTED ON SAID CYLINDER, PATTERN CONTROL MECHANISM SELECTIVELY INDEXED IN TIMED RELATION RELATIVE TO THE ROTATION OF THE NEEDLE CYLINDER TO CONTROL THE SEQUENTIAL OPERATION OF SAID KNITTING INSTRUMENTALITIES, A PATTERN SELECTOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED BED PLATES MOUNTING A PATTERN SELECTOR DRUM THEREBETWEEN, SAID PATTERN SELECTOR DRUM OPERABLE TO SELECT NEDDLES FOR PATTERNING THE FABRIC KNIT THEREON, A CONTROL MECHANISM MOUNTED ON SAID ASSEMBLY BETWEEN SAID BED PLATES, SAID PATTERN SELECTOR DRUM HAVING A PLURALITY OF PATTERNS STORED THEREON, A GROUP OF SLIDES ARRANGED IN SETS, EACH SET SEPARATELY OPERABLE BY SAID CONTROL MECHANISM AND CORRESPONDING TO THE PATTERNS STORED ON SAID DRUM, QUICK-BREAK COUPLING MEANS CONNECTING SAID AS- 